Medicine has an Apoplexy
by anabiel
Summary: Chapter 1: the scrub techs have been filing complaints. Chapter 2: Dr Palmer reflects and remembers some medicine
1. The scrub techs rebel

**Medicine has an Apoplexy**

 **The Scrub Techs Rebel**

"Dr Strange." The Chief of the Neurosurgery Department stalked into Stephen's office without knocking. "I need to talk to you."

"Not now, I ha-"

"No. Now." She dropped a thick file onto his desk.

"I'm not interested in taking another patie-"

"This is not a patient."

He paused, unsure. "Then?"

"Complaints. About you."

Stephen scoffed. This was nothing new. Why did she even care? "If this is about 54-"

" _Complaints_ ," she continued, "from the scrubs techs." She flipped the file open and turned it to him.

"Here," she jabbed her finger on the papers. "October 11, Dr Strange broke sterile field. Again. Today, he scrubbed _and then_ put his mask on. Do you see how this is incorrect? You CANNOT scrub, be sterile,and then touch something unsterile like your mask! A third-year medical student knows this!"

Stephen started to say something, but she continued. "October 20, Dr Strange did not scrub correctly and does he know how to dry his hands? He used the sterile cloth wrong. He also seems quite insistent about gowning and gloving without the aid of a scrub tech

"November 1st, Dr Strange walked into the OR without a mask. The sterile field was already set. We had to redo it. This is the third time this week he's done this.

"November 20 - Do I need to continue?" she asked sharply. Stephen was silent. "So, until further notice, your cases are canceled until the scrub techs feel that you are able to maintain the sterile field. This hospital cannot afford to pay for the cost and _time_ to redo the sterile fields because of you, and frankly, the ID docs all hate you."

"But-"

"Learn. Sterile. Technique, Dr Strange. Learn it. Live by it. Meditate in your sterility. You may be a fantastic neurosurgeon - one of the best here - but this is absolutely unacceptable." Her phone dinged and she looked at it. "Shit, the meeting. I will have to talk to you later about 544," she growled as she rushed out of the room, and like a whirlwind, she was gone.

* * *

This… This may have bothered me a little during the movie. I may continue this - I have a few more gripes about the medicine in this movie.

ID = Infectious Disease


	2. Dr Palmer remembers some medicine

**Medicine has an Apoplexy**

 **Dr Palmer Remembers Some Medicine**

Christine was suturing a man's ear after another man Mike Tyson style bit his ear during a bar fight when a senior ER doctor walked by the door. The footsteps stopped and he backed up, peering into the room. He watched her work for a moment.

"Dr Palmer, is there a reason why you're suturing without a needle driver?"

"Um?" she questioned, pausing and looking up from her work.

" _Why_ are you using your hands to hold the needle," he reiterated. "You're going to stick yourself and get hep B... Or hep C, or god forbid, HIV. Go find a _needle driver_." She continued to look blankly at him.

"Now!" he growled when she didn't move.

"Right!" She jumped, finished her current suture and rushed passed the doctor. He shook his head as he watched her jog to the supply closet.

"Wasn't she a surgeon? What the hell."

* * *

Christine was zoning out at her desk when a thought occurred to her: did she ever repair the artery/vein that was causing Stephen's cardiac tamponade?

Somewhere, Stephen keeled over clutching at his chest, blood filling the pericardial sac. "Christineeeeeeeeeeeee"

* * *

Another thought occurred to her as she was checking on a patient. Did she shock asystole?! The movie trope that was always wrong and one she had often ranted about as a medical student?!

…..She DID! Christine groaned, disappointed in herself. Stupid! You don't shock asystole!

* * *

Curved needles are not hand suture needles wtf.

Cardiac tamponade from a penetrating wound.. Like.. you would have to do an emergent thoracotomy to clamp that vessel or whatever, but ok, I can see how cutting the chest open would not be conducive to plot.

Asystole = "flatline". You don't shock asystole. You can learn more about shockable rhythms by looking up the ACLS algorithms.

And seriously, what kind of doctor is Palmer? ?

Haha my bestie was so pissed during the OR scenes she almost walked out of the theater.


End file.
